Sport

Serena and Venus Williams reunited for doubles at the Cincinnati Open, their first such appearance since 2022, but lost a thrilling match tiebreak to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns. Despite defeat, the sisters celebrated their return, highlighting its special and nostalgic significance

India dominated the opening day of the Asian Junior Chess Championship 2026 Blitz events in Mumbai as Vignesh Vermula won the Open title and Saranya Devi claimed the Girls' crown, with Indian players sweeping all three podium places in the Open section

Alaaeddine Ajaraie scored a superb hat-trick as NorthEast United came from behind to defeat Shillong Lajong 5-2 in the Durand Cup quarterfinal. The Highlanders produced a dominant second-half display to book a fourth successive semifinal appearance

Ayush Shetty stunned world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi to produce the biggest upset of the BWF World Championships and reach the second round. PV Sindhu, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, Kavipriya-Simran and Hariharan-Arjun also advanced with impressive victories

India suffered a 2-4 defeat to England in their second Pool D match of the Hockey World Cup after defensive lapses proved costly. The loss leaves Harmanpreet Singh's side needing at least a draw against Pakistan to reach the second round

The Hyderabad Cricket Association has announced the Women's Open Selection Trials and Men's Districts Talent Hunt/Open Selection Trials for the 2026-27 season. Eligible and aspiring cricketers can register online through the official HCA websites to participate in the selection process

World junior squash champion Anahat Singh is aiming to upgrade her Asian Games medal colour at Aichi-Nagoya next month. The 18-year-old says she will work harder while focusing on senior-level challenges and her ultimate dream of winning an Olympic medal for India

Harbhajan Singh recalled a 2005 April Fool prank in which he and Yuvraj Singh tricked India captain Sourav Ganguly with fake newspaper clippings. The prank became so convincing that Ganguly offered to quit captaincy before teammates revealed the joke

Shameemudheen was the biggest buy at the Prime Volleyball League Season 5 auction, with Kochi Blue Spikers securing him for ₹20 lakh. Muhammad Nihal C K fetched ₹19 lakh, while Shon T John and Jasjodh Singh went for ₹15.5 lakh each

Eastern Naval Command defeated Visakhapatnam City Police by 96 runs to win the VDCA Institution League Cricket Championship. Sanath Kelath and Bhankti S. Nayak hit half-centuries before Sumith Yadav and S. H. Deepak claimed three wickets each

The Telangana Rifle Association will host three major shooting competitions from August 18 to 21 at the OCTOPUS Shooting Range in Ibrahimpatnam, Hyderabad. The events will feature Big Bore and Super Big Bore competitions, bringing athletes and coaches from across India

T. Aaron Paul hit 112 for Mahmood CC, while Devendar Reddy and N. Sri Harsha claimed five-wicket hauls in HCA B-Division two-day league pre-quarterfinals. Medak District beat Income Tax, while Mahmood, Postal, Sportive and Vijay Hanuman posted strong totals

The Kerala GST Department has issued charge memos to three officials over alleged lapses in handling tax evasion linked to the 2025 Reporter Broadcasting Company-Argentina football team deal. Nearly Rs 22 crore in tax was found payable, with recovery proceedings now under scrutiny

Emmanuel Sports Club will conduct the 13th Subramaniam Memorial Football Tournament for Under-9, Under-11, Under-13, Under-14 and Under-17 players at Kick-n-Hit Sports Arena from August 28 to 30. Entries close on August 22. Contact Emmanuel for details

AISTS India and YIPESU have entered into a strategic academic partnership to strengthen sports education in Telangana. The collaboration will offer AISTS India’s PGCP and explore globally benchmarked programmes, while creating opportunities for student exchanges, internships, industry exposure and placements

Three athletes from Visakhapatnam — V. Shyam Bhagavan, K. Karthikeya and B. Pravallika Reddy — have been selected to represent Andhra Pradesh at the 21st National Youth Athletics Championship in Punjab. The Athletics Association congratulated them and wished them medal success

Ravindra Jadeja became the first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 Test wickets during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka. The milestone also saw him join Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Daniel Vettori in the elite 4,000-run, 350-wicket club

R Praggnanandhaa drew with Levon Aronian in the sixth round of the Sinquefield Cup to remain joint second with 3.5 points. Wesley So retained the lead, while Anish Giri registered the only victory of the day in the Grand Chess Tour event

Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja shared seven wickets as India bowled Sri Lanka out for 284, securing a 178-run first-innings lead. Sonal Dinusha hit his maiden Test century, while Niroshan Dickwella scored 80 in Sri Lanka’s resistance

Australia great Ellyse Perry has praised Smriti Mandhana’s incredible willpower and strong mindset, while highlighting Harmanpreet Kaur’s tenacity and competitiveness. Perry also backed the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy and reflected on the evolution of women’s cricket and learning from younger players

Cristiano Ronaldo says the Saudi Pro League season could be his last in professional football. The 41-year-old Portugal superstar, who has scored 976 career goals, wants to leave a spectacular legacy after 25 years marked by trophies, sacrifice and success

Niroshan Dickwella and Sonal Dinusha hit unbeaten fifties to rescue Sri Lanka from 99/5 and take them to 215/5 at tea on Day 3 of the Galle Test. Their 125-run stand reduced India’s first-innings lead to 247 runs

World No. 1 An Se Young began her BWF World Championships campaign with a straight-game win over Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova in New Delhi. The South Korean star, however, admitted her ankle injury is still recovering and requires more time

M R Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan advanced to the men’s doubles Round of 32 at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi after Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds retired with an injury while trailing 21-16, 6-4.